Ahead of the FA Cup final against Man City at Wembley today, Erik ten Hag has lost just one trophy in his career as both a player and a manager.
24/05/2001 - Twente win the Dutch Cup. As a player, Ten Hag played as a defender and played for Twente for three periods, including 1989-1990, 1992-1994 and 1996-2002. He started and ended his professional career at the same club.
But it was not until the third stage that Ten Hag - then 31 years old - won the only major title of his career, when Twente defeated PSV Eindhoven on penalties in the final of the Dutch National Cup (KNVB Cup) in 2001.
But it was a bittersweet victory, coming a year after a massive explosion at a fireworks factory in the city of Enschede, where Twente is based. The blast, equivalent to 5,000 kg of TNT, was felt more than 32 km away, killing 23 people, injuring more than 1,000 others, destroying 200 homes and damaging more than 1,500 others.
Ten Hag lifts the 2001 Dutch Cup, after the final with Twente against PSV. Photo: fctwente.nl
On the day of the tragedy, as captain of Twente, Ten Hag was upset that his team still had to play away to Feyenoord. On the way to Rotterdam, the Twente players had to call home, and constantly pray that their relatives and friends were not affected by the explosion. Afterwards, Ten Hag interviewed on live television that half the city was on fire, but Twente still had to play due to a lack of leadership. In that match, Ten Hag and his teammates drew 1-1 with Feyenoord. "I don't want to overestimate the importance of football, but when I think about the Dutch Cup final at that time, winning the Cup brought pride to the city, a year after the disaster," Ten Hag recalled after retiring.
26/5/2013 - Promoted to the top flight with Go Ahead Eagles. Ten Hag began his coaching career at the Second Division club Go Ahead Eagles in the 2012-2013 season. Having gained experience as an assistant at Twente and then PSV Eindhoven, the coach born in 1970 began to really hone his coaching skills.
Obsessed with detail, Ten Hag banned mobile phones and card games and forced players to communicate with each other in the training ground. He required them to line up their training shirts and even corrected a female staff member who brought drinks into the locker room for not placing them straight.
Ten Hag's demanding approach paid off. Go Ahead Eagles finished sixth in the Eerste Divisie, earning them a place in the play-offs for promotion to the Dutch Eredivisie.
Go Ahead Eagles players carry Ten Hag to celebrate their victory in the 2013 Eredivisie promotion play-off final. Photo: ADL
Ten Hag's team beat Dordrecht 6-3 and VVV-Venlo 4-0 to set up a final against FC Volendam. In the first leg at home, Go Ahead Eagles won 3-0 and fans flooded the pitch to celebrate with the players.
Ten Hag was furious, pulling the whole team into the dressing room and sternly reminding them that there was still the second leg. Go Ahead Eagles lost the second leg 0-1 but still secured promotion to the Eredivisie.
Defender Bart Vriends said: "I don't often see Ten Hag in a relaxed mood, ready to laugh or relax during a training session. He is always very serious. But I saw Ten Hag laugh out loud for the first time at the end of May, after the club was promoted. He had a beer in his hand and his cap on backwards."
But after just one season, Ten Hag left Go Ahead Eagles and did not manage the team in the Eredivisie. He could not refuse the offer to take over Bayern Munich's B team, and had the opportunity to work with then first-team coach Pep Guardiola.
5/5/2019 - Ajax won the Dutch Cup . Ten Hag made a splash when he led Utrecht from 2015-2017, notably reaching the Europa League in the 2017-2018 season, and was then appointed coach by Ajax after the club fired Marcel Keizer in December 2017. He was under a lot of pressure when the commentary team in Amsterdam mocked him for his accent and many experts doubted his ability.
But Ten Hag has helped Ajax to a historic season with treble ambitions. He ended a five-year trophy drought by beating Willem II 4-0 in the Dutch Cup final at De Kuip. The goals were scored by Daley Blind, Rasmus Kristensen, and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar with a brace.
But Ten Hag didn't stop there, winning the Eredivisie and the Champions League semi-finals with Ajax - where they lost to Tottenham thanks to a Lucas Moura hat-trick in the second half of the return leg. Ten Hag is also highly regarded for elevating talents such as Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech.
Ten Hag celebrates winning the KNVB Cup and Eredivisie double in the 2020-2021 season. This is the second time he has won this domestic double with Ajax. Photo: ajax.nl
18/4/2021 - Ajax won the Dutch Cup . Ten Hag faced many difficulties when Ajax "bleeded talent" with the biggest stars being sought after by European rivals, and the stadium closed due to Covid-19. But he still helped Ajax have a successful season with a domestic double.
In the Dutch Cup final, Ten Hag and Ajax defeated Vitesse 2-1 in an empty stadium to win the title for the second time. More impressively, Ajax won the Eredivisie with 88 points, 16 more than runners-up PSV Eindhoven, and scored 102 goals. The most impressive performance was the 13-0 victory at VVV-Venlo.
17/4/2022 - Ajax lose the Dutch Cup final. In his final season at the Johan Cruyff Arena, Ten Hag defends his Eredivisie title but fails to win a third domestic double.
Ten Hag was under pressure amid rumours of a move to Man Utd and made a number of controversial decisions in the final against PSV. He benched Sebastien Haller - a striker with 33 goals in 37 games - and gave the chance to the unproven 20-year-old Brian Brobbey. First-choice goalkeeper Andre Onana was also left out due to fitness issues.
Ryan Gravenberch put Ajax ahead in the 23rd minute, but goals from Erick Gutierrez and Cody Gakpo gave PSV a 2-1 win to claim the Cup. VAR made two decisions that went against Ajax, leaving Ten Hag frustrated and arguing with the fourth official on the touchline.
Not long after that, Man Utd officially confirmed the appointment of Ten Hag on a long-term contract, replacing interim coach Ralf Rangnick after the 2021-2022 season.
26/2/2023 - Man Utd won the League Cup . Man Utd settled the League Cup final at Wembley in the first half. In the 33rd minute, Luke Shaw kicked a free kick for Casemiro to jump high and head the ball across the corner to open the scoring. Five minutes later, Wout Weghorst passed the ball to Marcus Rashford, who shot from a tight angle and hit Sven Botman's foot, changing direction, leaving goalkeeper Loris Karius unable to block.
The Red Devils could have won by a bigger margin had Bruno Fernandes taken advantage of a late one-on-one, but the 2-0 result was enough for Ten Hag to secure United's first trophy since 2017 - the Europa League under Jose Mourinho - in his first season at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag lifts the League Cup after Man Utd beat Newcastle 2-0 in the final. This is his first title with Man Utd. Photo: Shutterstock
After the match, Ten Hag, centre-back Lisandro Martinez and midfielder Antony danced their hips in a corner of the stands, then laughed and put their arms around each other. The Dutch coach said this was a familiar celebration from his time working with Ajax, emphasizing that winning the League Cup showed Man Utd were on the right track, and inspired the team to conquer many more titles.
Today, also at Wembley, Ten Hag has the chance to win another title when he meets Man City in the FA Cup final. Opta rates Man City higher with a winning rate after 90 minutes of 63%, nearly four times higher than the same city club.
Hong Duy
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